March 9, 2012

When snow leopards predate on
livestock, herding families must make a difficult choice between
protecting their livelyhood and protecting the cats. Last year, we
discovered that for the people living within snow leopard habitat,
the answer to this difficult question was not clear.

When the snow leopard Shonkor killed
more than a dozen domestic sheep and goats, we were concerned. We
empathized with the herder, and worried about the safety of Shonkor.
Incidents like this have driven other herders in Mongolia to kill
snow leopards. But this time, the herder contacted our staff. Our
field team immediately went to help.

The herder’s first tactics had
not worked. He had, in an attempt to keep the cat from killing more
of his livestock, parceled out one carcass daily to the cat, hoping
it would be too full to kill again. The cat then didn’t want to
leave! He stayed, right next to the yurt – and it scared the
family.

Our staff used knowledge gleaned from
our in-depth research to find a better solution. They helped the
herder move one of the dead animals to a hillside far from the yurt,
and to get rid of the rest. Shonkor was able to feed on the carcass
without threatening the family or the rest of the herd. The family
then diligently patrolled the corral – flashing lights at
night, making noise, and discouraging Shonkor from returning. He
didn’t. As for the family, we helped them to join the new
Mongolian livestock insurance program so they can be compensated for
livestock losses like this in the future.

This situation highlighted an important
need to educate communities about better ways prevent and respond to
snow leopard predation.

The first step was to conduct day-long
workshops with participants of the Snow Leopard Enterprises program.
Over 330 people met to share how they already address snow leopard
visits, and learn what additional information they need and want.

Now, Nadia M., Conservation Education
Manager for the Trust and its partner organization SLCF Mongolia, has
developed a poster summarizing the best practices from the herders
and international experts. We plan on distributing 500 posters to
people in more than 25 villages, as well as park rangers and others
who need the information.

Hopefully, the end result will be fewer
of the types of conflicts that can lead to snow leopard killings.

Unfortunately, Shonkor passed away of
natural causes in August of 2011. We are grateful that he was able to
teach us so much about snow leopards, and how to live in peace with
them.

1 comment:

Just discovered your blog! I am quite interested in birding since the time i have watched the hollywood movie called THE BIG YEAR. where do you live currently? i am mongolian. when is your next birding tour? please contact me via email: taivan0719@yahoo.com

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BIRDING MONGOLIA covers any topic concerning wild birds in Mongolia: conservation, migration, observations, identification, projects, events etc. Contributions on other aspects of Mongolia’s natural heritage, as well as information from regions bordering Mongolia, are also featured from time to time.

Axel Bräunlich

I have been birding in Mongolia since 1995. Birding Mongolia was originally set up in March 2007, providing information on the fabulous birdlife (especially migration) at my local patch in Khovd, near the Altai Mountains in the west of the country, where I lived from 2005 to 2007. The blog grew rapidly, with contributions coming from more and more observers, and covering other parts of Mongolia, too.

Andreas Buchheim

I have been visiting Mongolia since 2004. It all started with gull research trips, but I now come to Mongolia at least twice a year, staying for about 6 months annually since 2010, not only for the continuing gull research but now mainly to be with my Mongolian wife and our son and to go birding. As a quasi resident of Ulaanbaatar, I do most of my birding around the city during winter but, luckily, I can visit the even more fascinating rural regions of this rapidly changing country during the warmer seasons.

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